Captain's Corner: Good time to target speckled sea trout

The gulf water temperature has dropped significantly recently. One week the water was in the 80s, the next it was in the lower 70s. The drop has made the speckled sea trout a reliable target. Redfish have been on the move, so sea trout has saved me this past week. The great thing about trout fishing, other species can be caught to provide fast action. Wind can help when targeting sea trout. It allows you to set up a drift on a deep grass flats, so a large area can be targeted. On sunny days, it is easy to locate deep grass. The darker patches are the grassy areas and lighter areas are sandy bottom. I stay away from the sandy bottom; it usually does not produce what you want to catch. All grass flats have "sand holes." I will work the edges and the middle of these holes. Trout are lingering on the edges of these holes waiting to ambush its prey. Light 10-pound braided line with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader will provide long casts. A red quarter-ounce jig head rigged with a root beer paddle tail grub is deadly for trout. Eel and minnow type plastic tails will also produce good numbers of fish. Use super glue to attach the tail to the jig head; this will get a few more uses out of the soft plastic baits.

Rob Gorta charters out of St. Petersburg. Call him at (727) 647-7606 or visit captainrobgorta.com.

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